RQG 2 Bertie! Wellington!
Summary The party meets Haringay: Zolf's contact in the police force. He asks them to run security at Edison's Mansion, where the inventor is to start an auction for a mysterious item. Synopsis Hamid asks Bertie what is happening, and the party tries to explain to the crowd that they are part of crowd control. Guards arrive and Zolf explains what happened, as a large, mutton-chopped man in a police uniform appears: Sargent Richard Haringay, Zolf's contact for their crowd-control contract. The guards disperse the crowd as Figgis appears from down the alley, but the party realise that he just avoided the combat and Zolf fires him. The dwarf asks Sasha if she wants to take Figgis' place in the mercenary company, which she agrees to, and Hamid joins the party as well. Hamid asks Sasha what the men that they fought had wanted, and she says that she used to work with them, but recently left that position, which they were not happy about. Sargeant Haringay notices one of the men is Greggson, and going through his pockets, he finds a note saying "tell her we'll let her know about Brock". The party and Sargeant Haringay carry the unconscious men into one of the adjoining buildings. Greggson regains consciousness, and, terrified by Bertie, says that they were hired to tell Sasha that Barret said he has information about Brock that Sasha might like to know, saying she should head back to "where it all started", saying that she can get back into lower London if she needs to. Zolf heals Bertie and Sargeant Haringay goes off to fetch some guards to remove the unconscious men. The party moves off to a nearby building with Sargeant Haringay, through the crowd. Carriages are arriving for an event in a local hall and the party makes sure that the carriages are not impeded. Bertie notices the Deputy Prime Minister in a carriage, Zolf recognizes the Chief of Police in another. Bertie also hears an old acquaintance, Lord Wellington. Bertie shouts out "Wellington!", who responds with "Bertie!" repeatedly, and Chessington also comes out, shouting "Bertie!". Chessington orders Sargent Haringay to allow Bertie and his party (his entourage) entry into the building via Wellington's carriage. Inside the building, Bertie recognizes various high profile people, including Dr William Colgate and Byron. He also sees a twin pair of gnomes wearing suits holding briefcases, who nod to Bertie. Bertie is pulled into a group of childhood friends, as Hamid starts to work the room. Zolf and Sasha keep an eye out for anything untoward. After Bertie hobnobs, one of the servants steps forward and invites the crowd into the Music Room, which contains a grand piano and rows of chairs. Hamid and Bertie sit down with the crowd, while Zolf and Sasha stand at the back. Lord Edison, inventor of the lightning rail and other technologies, steps onto the stage. Quotes * BERTIE: As you can see, this crowd is very much under control at this point. * ZOLF: Yes. * BERTIE: Look! They’re very sedate. * HAMID: They—they all saw you, um... bisect this poor gentleman. * BERTIE: He started it! -- * Crowd: I saw her shank that guy. * Sasha: Good control. * Zolf: Yes, and he was resisting...being controlled. * Bertie: I, it was a controlled shank. * Zolf: Exactly. * Sasha: He’s fine now. -- * Zolf: So, looks like we’re down... one. So, um... what was your name again? * Sasha: Uh, Sasha. * Zolf: Do you wanna join up? You seem quite good in a fight. You might need some protection from those guys. -- * Sasha: I, I mean, thanks for... having my back there, guys. * Zolf: All right. * Sasha: That was. yeah. It’s... * Zolf: Didn’t seem very fair odds. -- * Hamid: Should we find out what these guys were up to? Do—why were they attacking you? * Sasha: I think it’s fine. I don’t think that we need to know what they were up to at all. I think we should just, maybe just go? It’d be fine if we just left. I don’t...I don’t think that...I don’t think we need to know anything. * Hamid: I don’t think it would be good to start a new relationship with equivocation. * Zolf: Let’s...wait, let’s keep things simple. Have you done a murder? * Sasha: Well, not until today, but you healed him. * Zolf: So it wasn’t a murder. * Sasha: I wasn’t lying when I said before I, I had employment with some people that wanted me to continue in their employment? And I don’t wanna do that job anymore. But I, I wasn’t... it wasn’t that I... * Zolf: '''You need an out. Yeah, that’s fine. * '''Sasha: I, I never hurt… * Hamid: That seems fair enough. * Zolf: Yeah. Fine. Don’t ask, don’t tell. -- * Harringay: Uh, does the name Brock mean anything to anyone? * Zolf: Quite a nice name, but other than that, no? * Hamid: '''I think maybe? * '''Sasha: Um. Uh. I mean. It sounds like an interesting name. Maybe there’d be a story that... you might want to tell us. * Harringay: So hypothetically if someone here who, uh, I reckon has actually, you know, been trying to help, wanted to know more about Brock, they’d be looking at this piece of paper that I’m holding up here. * Alex: He holds it up in front of Sasha, just kind of idly whilst looking away. It basically just has: “Tell her will let her know about Brock” on a piece of paper. It’s scrawled, it’s clearly like a piece of charcoal on parchment or something. -- * Bertie: Hang on, hang on. So, I mean, this chap, I mean, his face wasn’t that great to start with, and frankly, slightly higher up the queue. Hello. Scratches! I’ve got a graze? I’m, I’m nearly sad. Heal me! -- * Bertie: Make way, make way, everyone. Heroes coming through. Steady, steady as you go. -- * Zolf: We should get you a, uh, do you just have knives? * Sasha: I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have any knives. -- * Bertie: Wellington? * Wellington: Bertie? * Bertie: Wellington! * Wellington: Bertie! * Bertie: Wellington! * Wellington: BERTIE! * Bertie: WELLINGTON! -- * Wellington: I like your valet! He’s got excellent suits! * Bertie: Oh, no, this isn’t my valet. This is an old university friend of mine. This is, if I may facilitate some introductions, this is Hameed Salay Haroun al-Tehran. * Hamid: You might know my father? He works out of Cairo. * Wellington: Oh, the Cairo Tehrans! Oh, how are they doing? * Hamid: Oh, very well, yes. Uh, the whole family, yes. * Wellington: Oh, fantastic. Fantastic. * Hamid: Things are, things are good. A pleasure to meet you. -- * Wellington: I’m guessing...bodyguard and... * Sasha: Yeah, I’m the bodyguard. * Wellington: Oh! Oh! I’d’ve... * Alex: Kind of looks to Zolf. * Zolf: And I’m his courtesan. Dice rolls and Mechanics Plot Notes Figgis is fired from the party after failing to do anything in the first encounter; he comes back in a later episode and tries to rob an al-Tahan bank in London while masquerading as Byron. (The party chase him down and capture him.) The people chasing Sasha are from her backstory; we learn later on that Sasha was a member of an underground gang in Other London, and was running away from it. * The paper note they slip Harringay says “Tell her we’ll let her know about Brock.” Brock is Sasha’s cousin who’s been missing for nearly a decade, who Sasha is looking for. He was also a member of the gang, and we later learn that Barret Racket sent Brock to Paris to become part of Mr. Ceiling (namely, having his brain harvested and used as one of thousands of other brains powering the machine.) Met some of the upper members of high society: * Dr. William Colgate, who later shows up in the Kew arc as they investigate Kew Gardens and the strange mould and creatures that are there. * Lord Byron: later in this arc, we learn that the explosion was caused by a group led by Byron’s sister, who used the nickname Guy Fawkes. * Wellington: in the Damascus arc, the member of the Cult of Hades that shows up at the factory looks like he could be related to Wellington. Category:Prologue Category:Episode